sumner



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

L. 0015111111 au W. J. SUMNER. SUPPORT FOR LADDERS.

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L. GOBURN 8v W. J. SUMNIEB..

SUPPORT PoR LADDBRS. 4

110.463,218. Patented Nov. 1'7, 1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEMUEL COBURN AND VILLIAM J. SUMNER, OF HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS,ASSIGNORS TO THE COBURN TROLLEY TRACK MANUFACTURING COM PANY, OF SAMEPLACE.

SUPPORT 'FOR LADDERS'.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 463,218, dated November1?, 1891. Application filed March 2, 1891. Serial No. 383,508! (Nomodell) To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that we, LEMUEL COBURN and WILLIAM J. SUMNEE, citizens ofthe United States, both residing at Holyoke, in the county of Hampdenand State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements inTrolley-Supports for Ladders, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to improvements in 1o trolley-supportedstep-ladders, the object of the invention being the provision of devicesin and for the ladder and in and for the supporting devices therefor,which are most adaptable and efficient for the easy and certain andfreely-movable support of the ladder and for the adjustment thereof toaccommodate various situations. These improvements are constituted bythe constructions and combinations of parts, all substantially as willzo hereinafter more fully appear, and be set forth in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a perspective view ofthe ladderand the improved equipments therefor, the ladder being shownas suspended from a trolley-track and by a portion thereof movable uponand along a counter and past a series of shelves. Fig. 2 is aperspective view, on alargerscale, showinga portion of the trolley-trackand of 3o the roller-carrier thereon and the upper portion of one railofthe step-ladder connected to said hanger. Fig. 3 isa perspective viewof parts employed in jointingthe side rails of the ladder, said parts inthis view being shown 3 5 as disconnected, while Fig. 4 is a centrallongitudinal sectional view of the said parts in the united relations.

In the drawings, A represents a trolleytrack provided with doubleparallel ways ad,

4o with an intermediate slot or opening h b between them, and said trackis shown as secured by suitable clips c cat the top and front edge of abank of shelves B, which rise above a counter C, below which latter is a`bank of drawers D, and all such as may be found in many stores.

G represents the step-ladder, which by its top is supported onrollercarriers, which are movable upon the said track, the said ladder5o by'a-lower portion thereof having a sliding engagement wit-h aroller-provided rail E, which is at the front of the counter. The ladderat its back side is provided with a runner-bar H, which bears along onthe rolls CZ of the said rail E. 55

A preferred form of roller-carrier, as shown at J, and one which isadvantageously ein ployed in connection with the improved devices of thepresent invention, forms the subject-matter of a separate applicationfor Let- 6o ters Patent of the United States, filed simultaneouslyherewith under Serial No. 383,502, and consists of the tworollercarriers ai, each comprising the pair of rollers lO 10 and theunitingaxle 12, the parallel metallic side strips 14 14E, confining byriveting or otherwise between their end portions the wood blocks 15 15,which have the transverse bearing-recesses 16 in their under sides forbearing on said roller-axles, and there is a cross 7o bar or pin 17,which is supported on inter1nediate portions of the said strips andtraverses the opening 18, which is between them and between the ends ofthe said blocks 15 15.

Now, proceeding to describe novelties of construction as embraced underthe present invention, K K represent hanger-bars vertically applied,each of which by its upper portion enters the said opening 1S in thecarriern body, being of a thickness about equal to the 8o width of saidopening, and each bar K is supported on one of said pins 17. lEachhangerbar at its portion 20, below the under side of the body of thecarrier, has a thickness less than the width of the slot l) in thetrack, and at its lower end is formed enlarged, as at22, and boredhorizontally and in a direction parallel with the line of the track, asindicated at 23. A bar L is horizontally supported under and parallelwith the track at the lower 9o ends of said bars, being' entered withinthe said openings and rigidly held by the setscrews g g. Each side railof the ladder at its upper end is provided or equipped with transversesockets ff, through which the said rod L is passed and by whichconnection the ladder is supported. As particularly shown, theladder-rails at their upper ends have the hubbed castings h h securedthereon, through which the said rod passes. Set-screwsjj are roo shownas entered through the said socketwalls and against the said bar L.

The construction described is deemed important and advantageous, for, onnoting that each post K is sustained on a carrier-body J, which issupported and held against tilting sidewise by being'moun ted on fourrollers, as explained, and the bar L, being held rigidly and againstrolling or turning with relation to the said posts, and the upperportion of the ladder being by the set-screws j 7' rigidlj7 united tothe said bar L, it will be manifest that the Weight of theobliquely-positioned ladder or of a personthereon will not cause anyswinging of the ladder as to its upper portion, and from the line ot'contact with the counter as its center of movement, which might'consequently exert a leverage on the lower ends of the bars Kto alsotilt them and cause them to bind upon one side of the track within theslot b. The ladder is, as it were, a rigid fixture ofthe carriage whenthe parts are once set up, although of course on loosening theset-screws the parts maybe disunited or adjusted, so that the ladder mayat any necessary slant extend from the edge ot a counter of any width upinto proximity with the elevated track.

The ladder illustrated in the drawings has its side rails jointed andthe lower sections 'Z thereof adjustable relative to the upper sectionsm of the ladder, so that no 'matter at what 'degree of inclination thesaid upper sections are placed the lower part of the ladder will, asshown, stand vertically,and therefore two castings o and p, such asparticularly indicated in Figs. 3 and 4, are provided, each beingadapted to be bolted or otherwise connected upon the side of thesections m and Z of the ladder-rails, and one of the said lcastingshav-ing a central bearing-aperture 25, within which the hub 26 of theother casting iits. The end portions of these castings are roundedconcentricall with the said engaging-bearings 26,25, an each casting isprovided with a semicircular or arc-shaped concentric rib or bearingedge 27, upon and against which the extreme edge portion 28 of eachcastin g respectively bears. rlhe casting p is provided with concentrie-arc-formed slots u u, and the casting o has holes QJ o, with whichsaid slots u u register, and bolts which pass through the said holes fuand slots u, together with suitable lockingnuts applied thereon, serveto rigidly confine the one casting upon the other, and therefore whenthe said parts described are in their interlocked and `conned relationseach two-part ladderrail is to all intents and purposes the same as oneintegrally formed having the desired angle.

ln addition to the capability for adjustment, which has already beenmentioned as being due to the provision ot' the joint-forniing castings,incidental also to such provislsion arises greatieconomy in theproduction of the ladder side rails, for it will be plain that toproduce an angular side rail from a single piece of stock requires stockwhich is very wide, and therefore expensive of employment, due to theexcessive waste.

The runner-bar H is by its forward edge let into openings w therefor,which are formed within the rear edges of ythe ladder-rail -sections ZZ, being confined therein in any suitable manner, and, as shown, theworking or rear edge of said bar is, as to its extremities, forwardlyabated or inclined, as at y, thereby avoiding any liability of beingobstructed or impeded as the ladder runs7 due to any inequality in theadjustment of the rollers CZ.

What we claim as our invention is- 1. The combination, with a pair ofrollercarriers adapted to run upon a trolley-track and each of saidcarriers supporting a hanging bar, and a bar horizontally ranged underand longitudinally parallel with the track, which is supported andconfined upon said hanger-bars, of a ladder provided with sockets at itsupper portion, whereby it is engaged with and supported upon saidhorizontal bar, and set screwsor bolts for confining the said ladderupon said bar.

2. The combination, with an overhead trolley-track and a counter orledge therebelow, the edge of which is parallel with, but in a differentvertical' plane from, that of the said trolleyftrack, a pair ofroller-carriers adapted to run upon the track and each carriersupporting a pending bar, and a bar horizontally ranged under vandparallel with the track, which is supported upon said hanger-bars, of aladder having by its upper portion a supporting engagement with saidhorizontal bar and thence downwardly obliquely extending, and somaintained by being .supported upon the front edge lof said counter,substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a pair of :rollercarriers adapted to run upon atrolley-track and each of said carriers supporting a hanging bar whichat its lower end is suitably formed and horizontally apertured, the barL, engaged with said hangers and ranging under and parallel with thetrack, and the confining-screws g g, of a ladder having at its topsoekets,through which the said bar L engages, substantially as and forthe purpose described.

4;. In combination, an overhead trolleytrack and two carriages J Jthereon, Ieach of IOO IIO

which consists of two pairs of axle-united an overhead trolley-trackwhich is parallel with, but in a different vertical plane from, that ofthe front edge of said counter, a carrier movable upon said track, and aladder which by its upper portion is connected to the said carrier andwhich by its lower portion has a bearing,r against the said counteredge, the said ladder having a lower vertical portion and an upperoblique portion, and a connecting-joint casting, substantially as andfor the purpose described.

6. A ladder having each side rail thereof consisting of two sections mand Zand a jointing-

